I am the Lord thy God,... Thou shalt
have no other gods before me. -- (Exodus 20:2-3)

Introduction

In this paper I would like to assert that genuine monotheism is an
important classical spiritual heritage which has rarely been
practiced in its true sense and that the Reverend Sun Myung Moon's
Unification Movement (hereafter UM), which consists of numerous
inter-x movements, is inspired by such genuine or absolute
monotheism. In other words, I believe that genuine monotheism is one
of the most important characteristics of the U M members' worldview,
which is sometimes called "Godism" or "Unificationism."
Therefore, in this paper we will examine the significance and
implications of genuine monotheism by taking up the case of the UM. I
hope this paper will be of help in illuminating the main
characteristics of the UM and the major implications of genuine
monotheism, as well as its significance especially in our
inter-religious dialogue.

Godism and Niebuhr's Radical Monotheism

For many years Reverend Moon has emphasized the necessity of
"Godism" as our ultimate value system or Weltanschauung to
build a global societal community of love, peace and justice. What
does he mean by "Godism"? I believe that what he means by
it can be best described as genuine or absolute monotheism in
theological terms. What I mean by genuine monotheism is not different
from what H. Richard Niebuhr called radical monotheism) In other
words, Reverend Moon's Godism is almost completely agreeable to H.
Richard Niebuhr's radical monotheism.

According to Niebuhr, radical monotheism as value dependence and
as loyalty to One beyond all the many is in constant conflict with
the two dominant forms of faith, namely, henotheism (loyalty to one
god among many) and polytheism (faith in many gods). I agree with his
argument that although people generally assume themselves to be
monotheists in the West, they are, in reality, polytheists and
henotheists in most of their daily practices. In other words, they
trust not so much in God the Creator as in many "gods" such
as money, status, power, fame, virility, diploma, and so forth.
Furthermore, he is very critical of henotheism in Christianity, which
"tends to take one of two forms, the church-centered or
Christ-centered form."2 In the former, the church becomes the
absolute; in the latter, Jesus Christ, the mediator between God and
sinners, almost monopolizes the status of God. In the former,
theology (i.e., study about God) changes into ecclesiology (i.e.,
study about the church); in the latter, into "Jesus-ology"
(i.e., study about Jesus Christ).

Consequently, his concluding remarks on radical monotheism are as
follows:

Radical monotheism dethrones all
absolutes short of the principle of being itself. At the same time it
reverences every relative existent. Its two great mottoes are: "I
am the Lord thy God; thou shalt have no other gods before me"
and "Whatever is, is good."3

Moreover, largely as a result of his radically monotheistic faith,
Niebuhr came to his keen awareness that "the great source of
evil in life is the absolutizing of the relative."4 Therefore,
he insisted on worshipping nothing but the genuine God the eternal,
and strongly warned us against making false gods. These
characteristics of radical monotheism are none other than those of
Godism. Consequently, the U M as a movement of Godism/genuine
monotheism also reflects these characteristics of radical monotheism
and its implications.

The UM: Inter-x Movements

There are various terms that characterize the UM. I believe agape
or self-sacrificial love is one of the most fitting words that
characterize the UM. I have seen numerous practices of
self-sacrificial love by its members in the UM, and undoubtedly their
practice of agape has been inspired by their understanding of God as
a parental being of self-sacrificial love through the teaching and
practice of Reverend and Mrs. Moon. I will not, however, go into
detail about the relationship between "Godism" and agape,
because my focus in this paper is another term that characterizes the
UM.

Inter-x movement is the term I would like to discuss as one of the
most illuminating terms that stand for the UM. In other words, one of
the most important implications of genuine monotheism is that it
creates and facilitates various inter-x movements. Consequently, we
can present the characteristics of the UM as being manifested in the
following eleven inter-x movements: 1) international movement, 2)
interracial movement, 3) intercultural movement, 4) intersexual
movement, 5) inter-realm movement, 6) inter-dimensional movement, 7)
intergenerational movement, 8) interdisciplinary movement, 9)
interclass movement, 10) interdenominational movement, and 11)
inter-religious (interfaith) movement.5

Readers may not recognize some of these eleven words that begin
with "inter" because I coined some of them to describe the
UM. The "inter-x " generally means between or among Xs or
concerned with the relations between or among Xs. This is not an
exhaustive list of the inter-x movements that characterize the UM,
and I admit there is some convergence of meaning among them.

If someone asks why it is that the UM has so many inter-x
movements as its characteristics, I will answer that it is because
its genuine monotheism keeps its members from absolutizing the
relative. If we absolutized one nation, there would be no
international movement; if we absolutized one race, there would be no
interracial movement; if we absolutized one culture, there would be
no intercultural movement; if we absolutized one gender, there would
be no intersexual movement; if we absolutized one realm, there would
be no inter-realm movement;... and if we absolutized one religious
tradition, there would be no inter-religious movement. Now let me
briefly elaborate these eleven inter-x movements.

l. The UM is an international movement. It is not simple to
measure the level of "internationalization" of the
movements, but many of those who had an opportunity to closely
observe the UM were struck by its internationalization. In my view,
partly due to its theology and partly due to the rapid globalization
of the world, the UM has probably become the most international
movement among the social movements that ever existed on earth. Its
participants are offered numerous opportunities to encounter and to
work with persons of different nationalities. Reverend Moon
encourages its members to work in at least three different countries
during their life on earth. He mobilized the International One World
Crusade teams, which consisted of members of various nationalities
who travelled to multiple nations. When foreign missionaries were
sent to over 70 nations in 1975, a Japanese, an American and a German
were dispatched as an international foreign missionary team to each
country. Many of the organizations and projects inspired by Reverend
Moon are distinctively international in scope and naturally carry the
word "international" (or "World") in their names;
some of them are International Cultural Foundation, International
Religious Foundation, International Relief and Friendship Foundation,
International Federation for Victory Over Communism, International
Conference on the Unity of the Sciences, and so on.

Narrow nationalism ends in absolutizing a nation, which hinders
the emergence of international movements. Genuine monotheism,
however, keeps its believers from worshipping their own nation as the
absolute, recognizes the relevant value of all nations, and
facilitates the emergence of fair international intercourse.

2 The UM is an interracial movement. The "interracialness"
of the UM is closely related to its "internationalization."
Because the UM is very international, it provides its members with
various opportunities to contact and to work with persons of
different races. Moreover, Reverend Moon always emphasizes that God
is color blind; God loves his children irrespective of their color.
Consequently, the UM has been engaged in activities to eliminate
racial prejudice in order to bring about racial harmony (e.g.,
Minority Alliance International). Probably the ultimate barometer of
"interracialness" is the rate of the interracial marriages
among its members. In the UM, interracial marriages are encouraged
and the international scope of the UM offers its members real
possibilities of such interracial marriages, which are in fact
rapidly increasing. As a result of these interracial marriages, the
UM is creating many increasingly interracial congregations and local
communities all over the world.

Racism is one of the phenomena of the "absolutizing of the
relative." When the absolute value is attached to the color of
the white race or black race, white racism or black racism comes into
existence. For absolute monotheists, whatever color the skin may be,
it is always good because it is created by God. Thus, genuine
monotheism reminds its believers of the relativity of their color and
facilitates interracial activities and good will that transcends the
racial barriers.

3. The UM is an intercultural movement. The intercultural aspect
of the UM is closely connected with its international or interracial
aspects. As a result of its international and interracial aspects,
the members of the UM have many opportunities to encounter and to
live in various different cultures. The most conspicuous
intercultural aspect of the UM is its effort to harmonize Oriental
and Occidental cultures since it originated in Korea from the
Judeo-Christian tradition. In addition to harmonizing Eastern and
Western cultures, in the UM there is an aspect of harmonizing the
cultures of the First World and the Third World, because Reverend and
Mrs. Moon come from the Third World and have been working in the
United States and Europe during the greater part of the 1970s, 1980s,
and 1990s in order to transform the First World culture. Thus, Godism
or absolute monotheism leads its believers to the awareness of the
relative value of their own traditional culture, facilitates
intercultural exchanges, and contributes to the emergence of a new
harmonious global culture in the long run.

4. The UM is an intersexual movement. The UM is neither a men's
nor a women's movement; it is a movement of, for, and by, both men
and women. In recent years, there emerged radical feminists, who have
attacked traditional Christianity on its patriarchism and misogyny;
their contention is that "if God is male, then the male is
God."6 In contrast, because Unification Theology clearly teaches
that God has both masculine and feminine characteristics, it helps
its believers to avoid the absolutizing of one sex and to appreciate
the value of the other sex as complementary.

Besides, the absolutely monotheistic element of Godism makes clear
the relativeness of gender. Unification Theology emphasizes that a
man or a woman manifests only the partial nature of God and only
unity of the man and woman can represent the complete image of God.
Reverend Moon also repeatedly speaks that a man is created for the
sake of a woman and that a woman, for the sake of a man. Therefore,
we can say that the UM is a movement in an attempt to bring about
genuine unity between men and women. Moreover, because Unification
Theology teaches that Jesus could have manifested God's love more
fully, if he had established a family by getting married with a woman
prepared by God the imitation of Christ means for its believers not
living a life of celibacy but preparing for and living a life of
God-centered monogamous marriage. Consequently, premarital and
extra-marital sex are strictly prohibited in the UM, but in their
daily life male members and female members are not isolated or
segregated but integrated as brothers and sisters and spiritual
parents and children as a part of preparation for a married life.

5. The UM is an inter-realm movement. It is important to make a
distinction between the U M and the Holy Spirit Association for the
Unification of World Christianity (popularly called the Unification
Church). The Unification Church remains within the realm of religion,
but its members' activities are not confined (and legally are not
limited) to the realm of religion. Its absolute monotheism leads its
believers to the clear awareness that God is the sovereign not only
in the realm of religion but also in the realms of politics, economy,
education, arts, entertainment, and all others. Godism or absolute
monotheism does not allow its believers to absolutize the realm of
religion as the only sacred realm that deserves their exclusive
attention; therefore, it discourages them from withdrawing and trying
to stay only within the boundary of the religious realm. According to
Godism, men and women of God should be vigorously involved in the
activities in the realms of politics, economy, education, journalism,
art, entertainment, and all others as well as in the realm of
religion. Absolute monotheism makes it clear that God is not confined
inside the chapels, and that dividing the world into the sacred realm
of religion and the secular realm of all other non-religions will
become false and harmful dichotomizing if the pious are discouraged
from working in the so-called secular realms.

Therefore, the UM as a movement of absolute monotheism is not
confined to the realm of religion; its members are engaged in various
activities in the numerous realms of the world: manufacturing and
marketing various products (e.g., Ginseng products, machines),
publishing newspapers, magazines, and journals (e.g., The Washington
Times, The World and I, Dialogue and Alliance), organizing academic
associations and conferences (e.g., Professors World Peace Academy,
International Conference on the Unity of the Sciences, etc.),
producing movies ("Inchon"), fishing in the ocean, working
for political campaigns, and sponsoring various arts and
entertainment projects (e.g., Little Angels, New York City Symphony
Orchestra, etc.). Consequently, it would not be wrong to say that the
members of the UM are working, or intend to work, in all the realms
to sanctify or to sacralize them. Because of these reasons, we can
call the UM an inter-realm movement.

6. The UM is an inter-dimensional (inter-tense) movement.
According to Unification Theology, God is a God of past, present, and
future and transcends the tense or time; there exists only one God
throughout history and throughout the physical and spiritual worlds.
Therefore, God can never be satisfied unless he saves or restores not
only the people in the present (i.e., those living in the physical
world) but also those in the past (i.e., those living in the spirit
world) and those in the future. As a result of this absolutely
monotheistic viewpoint, Unification Theology emphasizes the
interconnectedness between the past, present, and future, or between
the spirit world and the physical world. In other words, it advocates
the salvation of the dead and those yet to be born as well as those
living on earth. Therefore, the UM members are deeply aware that the
saints and sages in the past have sacrificed themselves for this
present age and that we must liberate both those who have passed away
and those who are yet to be born (i.e., our descendants) by
fulfilling God's will at this present age.

According to Unification Theology, those who have passed away
exist as spiritual beings in the spirit world, which can exercise a
certain influence on the physical world and vice versa. Consequently,
the UM members always pray fervently, sometimes with fasting, in
order to mobilize the spirit world, that is, to ask God to order the
spirit persons to help those on earth. The UM members believe that by
completing God's will on earth at this present time under the help of
the spirit world we can restore not only those on earth but also
those in the spirit world. Therefore, the UM is an inter-dimensional
(inter-tense) movement and believes in complete universal salvation
-- salvation of both the dead (i.e., those in the spirit world) and
the living (i.e., those in the physical world).

7. The UM is an intergenerational movement. Since God is a God of
both the young and the old, a movement of God should attract and take
care of both the young and the old. Although this is not fully
realized in the United States yet, in Korea and in Japan a large
number of the people of the old generation have been involved in the
UM, especially since the Home Church movement began.7 In the Home
Church movement, each member selects 360 homes as his or her own
parish and serves them in order to create a God-centered community of
love and peace. Containing various kinds of people from all
generations, Home Church community symbolizes a microcosm of the
world. Through Home Church activities, members have many
opportunities to meet and to interact with people of all generations
from young children, teenagers, young adults, middle-aged persons, to
those who live in retirement.

More recently, Reverend Moon declared the Tribal Messiahship of
all the blessed members in 1989 and they are now expected to restore
at least 160 families, ideally those within their own clan (tribe)
including their own parents in their own hometown. A tribe of 160
families to be restored naturally includes all generations. Thus, the
ideal of the UM is to establish many God-centered homes where three
or more generations live together peacefully and harmoniously, as
Reverend and Mrs. Moon have presented us an ideal model at their home
in Irvington, New York, by living together with Mrs. Moon's mother
(till her death) as well as with their children and grandchildren
under one roof. For these reasons we can call the UM an
intergenerational movement.

8. The UM is an interdisciplinary movement. Its being an
interdisciplinary movement is closely connected with its being an
inter-realm movement. It has sponsored various conferences that are
related with numerous academic disciplines. Among these academic
conferences, the oldest and the largest one is the International
Conference on the Unity of the Sciences (ICUS). The ICUS invites not
only scholars from various natural sciences but also those from
various social sciences. Reverend Moon, the founder of the ICUS, is
keenly aware that we must solve both spiritual and physical
(material) problems to build a better world. Apparently any single
discipline cannot give a complete answer to the complicated human
problems. In recent years, more and more scholars have come to
realize the absolute necessity of exchanging ideas with scholars of
other disciplines. According to the evaluation of many of the
participants in the ICUS, it is the most truly interdisciplinary
conference they have ever attended. In addition to the ICUS, the UM
contributed to the founding of the Professors World Peace Academy, an
interdisciplinary association of professors, and the Washington
Institute for Values in Public Policy, an interdisciplinary research
institution. As a harvest of these interdisciplinary researches and
conferences, the UM is sponsoring a project of publishing a
God-centered interdisciplinary encyclopedia that will enlighten and
harmonize our knowledge in all disciplines. For these reasons we can
call the UM an interdisciplinary movement.

9. The UM is an interclass movement. The Unificationists'
awareness of God as a loving parent of all human beings leads them to
a conclusion that "God intends to give everyone an equal
environment and equal conditions of life, just as human parents would
to their children."8 Therefore, they have deep concern for
unifying dichotomized economic classes into one. At the Tenth ICUS,
Reverend Moon spoke of the human society as follows:

There are many confrontations and
struggles in human society today. Confrontations exist between what
might be called the upper and lower classes of races, nations, and
societies, but the most serious problem of all is the confrontation
between the upper and lower classes formed by the difference between
wealth and poverty....

A central medium which enables the
upper and the lower classes to unite in the middle is necessary. This
is none other than religion.

Originally, religion is supposed to
accomplish this function. Religion's purpose is the salvation of the
world rather than just the salvation of individuals or families. In
order to unite the upper, the middle and the lower classes, new
religion, which serves as a nucleus for unity, is necessary.

Then what is the Unification Church?
It is the new religion destined to carry out this historic mission.9

Thus, unlike many of the believers in Latin American liberation
theology or in Marxist movements, the UM members do not idealize or
romanticize the lower class or any of the economic classes. Without
absolutizing the wealth and without demonizing it, but relativizing
it, the UM members are striving for harmony and unity among all the
classes and for the ultimate emergence of one class.

10. The UM is an interdenominational movement. Generally speaking,
religious groups of Christian origin are referred to as
denominations. Although there are still many people who would not
accept the Unification Church as a Christian church, there is no
doubt that it originated from the Christian tradition. The official
name of the Unification Church is the Holy Spirit Association for the
Unification of World Christianity. As this name indicates, the UM
members have been working to bring about interdenominational
understanding and cooperation and believe that all Christians should
be one in love since God is one. Consequently, the U M has sponsored
numerous interdenominational conferences such as the New Ecumenical
Research Association (New ERA) Conferences and the
Interdenominational Conferences for Clergy (ICC) to facilitate mutual
understanding across the denominational lines. Furthermore, it has
also contributed to the interdenominational social service programs
through the National Council for the Church and Social Action (NCCSA)
and others. Because of these reasons, we can call the U M an
interdenominational movement.

11. Finally, the UM is an inter-religious (interfaith) movement.
The UM has sponsored many inter-religious/interfaith conferences and
projects. Some of these are the Conference on God: The Contemporary
Discussion, The Youth Seminar on World Religions, The Assembly of the
World's Religions, The Council for the World's Religions, and The
Religious Youth Service. In the Conference on God, many renowned
religious scholars from various religious traditions gathered
together to understand God. In the Youth Seminar on World Religions,
young leaders of various religious traditions and from different
nations formed a travelling team and visited the holy places of the
major world religions. The Council for the World's Religions promotes
dialogues and cooperation within and among major religious
traditions. The Religious Youth Service organizes a number of service
projects and serves local communities in need throughout the world by
mobilizing hundreds of faithful young men and women from various
religious backgrounds. These inter-religious conferences and projects
have contributed to the promotion of inter-religious understanding
and cooperation. Because of these inter-religious conferences and
projects promoted by the UM, we can call the UM an inter-religious
movement.

Monotheism and Interrelational Unificationism

I believe that these eleven examples of inter-x movements are some
of the most important implications of the Unificationist view of God.
Unificationists regard God as a common parent who yearns to see us
united and loving one another. Moreover, for them, God is a
subjective entity that encourages giving and receiving action between
or among God's created beings (objects) for the purpose of bringing
about unity. Thus, in Divine Principle, God is viewed as the
originator and facilitator of these God-centered interactions.

It is important to note that there are two types of
interrelational unificationism that guide these inter-x movements.
The first type is identity-maintaining (static) unificationism and
the second type is developmental (dynamic) unificationism.10 The
first type creates, not new identity, but harmony among existing
beings. On the other hand, the second type creates new identity.
Consequently, in my view, among these eleven cases of interrelational
unificationism, those of 4) intersexual, 5) inter-realm, 6)
inter-dimensional, 7) intergenerational, and 8) interdisciplinary
exclusively refer to the first type: identity-maintaining
unificationism. In other words, the U M members are striving for
harmony between or among different sexes, realms, dimensions,
generations, and disciplines. On the other hand, the rest of the
eleven cases, namely, 1) international, 2) interracial, 3)
intercultural, 9) interclass, 10) interdenominational, and 11)
inter-religious refer to both types of unificationism:
identity-maintaining (static) and developmental (dynamic). Put
differently, they are seeking not only for harmony among different
nations, races, cultures, classes, denominations, and religions, but
also ultimately for a dynamic emergence of a new identity: a new
nation, a new race, a new culture, a new class, and a new religion.

As mentioned above, I believe that the absolutely monotheistic
aspect of the Unificationist view of God is the central facilitator
of these cases of interrelational unificationism. Genuine monotheism
can be greatly instrumental in the emergence of harmony and unity in
the created world, partly because it keeps its believers from
idolatry -- the absolutizing of the relative -- and partly because it
enables them to find relevant value in every existence. For the
genuine or absolute monotheists, idolatry -- attachment of the
absolute value to a relative being -- is the major cause of conflict
and disunity in this world, and absolute monotheism prevents us from
this idolatry.

Monotheism and Religious Exclusivism

I placed the explanation of the inter-religious movement at the
end of the eleven inter-x movements because I wanted to make it clear
that the UM has a consistent pattern of the inter-x movements and
that its commitment to the inter-religious dialogue and cooperation
is not mere lip service, but a manifestation of its absolute
monotheism. In other words, when we absolutize a relative being,
there is no emerging of the inter-x movements.

Consequently, I disagree with British sociologist Bryan Wilson's
assertion that Christianity inherited monotheism from Judaism and
with it the associated attitudes of exclusivism.11 He appears to be
firmly convinced of the connection between monotheism and exclusivism
of religions; he flatly states, for example, that "monotheism
justified exclusivity"12 Nonetheless, my contention, as well as
H. Richard Niebuhr's, is that the majority of Christians have never
practiced genuine monotheism. Therefore, I contend that the
exclusivism of Christianity is not the result of its monotheism, but
on the contrary, the result of its non-practice of genuine
monotheism. Certainly, there is no question that exclusivism has been
one of the characteristics of the traditional Christianity throughout
history. But it is largely a result of henotheism in Christianity,
which tends to take, as pointed out by Niebuhr, either the
church-centered form or the Christ-centered form. The former created
a "high church" tradition, which has absolutized an
institutional church, and the latter created a "high
Christology" tradition, which has absolutized Jesus of Nazareth.
These two "high" traditions in Christianity are not
compatible with genuine (radical) monotheism and I believe they are
in great part responsible for the rise of exclusivism in
Christianity.

The Case History of the Unitarian Church

We can see in the history of the Unitarian Church in the United
States a negative relation between monotheism and exclusivism as well
as a positive relation between high Christology and exclusivism. The
Unitarian Church came into existence in New England in the early
nineteenth century by separating from the Congregational Church
largely as a result of its rejection of the divinity of Jesus. The
rejection of "high Christology" and thus of trinitarianism
also led to its rejection of "high church" doctrines. As a
consequence of these rejections, it became a more monotheistic group
than the traditional trinitarian churches at the time of the
separation; but it has also gradually become one of the most
inter-religious or the least exclusivist groups in the long run. In
1961, the Unitarian Association merged with the Universalists to form
the Unitarian Universalist Association. Accordingly, the history of
the Unitarian Church disproves the theory that monotheism is the
primary cause of exclusivism.13

The history of the Unitarian Church also suggests that absolute
monotheism and immanence of God are not far apart after all. As H.
Richard Niebuhr noted, radical monotheism "reverences every
relative existence," and "Whatever is, is good."14
This is because it regards God as responsible for all existence as
the Creator of all beings. In other words, radical monotheism enables
its believers to see the hand, power, or image of God behind every
relative existence, that is, every created being. This is a clear
contrast to the church-centered henotheism which is likely to confine
God inside chapels and the Jesus-centered henotheism which tends to
limit God's presence within the Christians who believe in Jesus of
Nazareth. In contrast to these henotheists, it is easy for the
absolute monotheists to see the guidance of God behind every religion
and to reach out for inter-religious dialogues.

Monotheism and a Cult of the Human Person

Along this line, I am intrigued by the thought that absolute
monotheism and "a cult of the human person" predicted by
Emile Durkheim might be synthesized.15 According to Durkheim,
primitive societies are permeated by the conscience collective, which
has a function of constraining and uniting its people into one
coherent group. As societies developed into the modern age, the
conscience collective was, however, destined to shrink and to wither
away. Consequently, he foresaw that in such a future society a just
social order would be maintained primarily by its citizens' mutual
respect for the innate worth and sacredness of each human person. He
referred to this semi-worshipping of individual human values as "a
cult of the human person" and reached a conclusion that, far
from being detrimental to social solidarity, this cult of the human
person "is the only system of beliefs which can ensure the moral
unity of the country."16

Because absolute monotheism rejects "high Christology"
and "high church" doctrines, it tends to support
"relatively high anthropology." In other words, absolute
monotheism enables us to see the image of God within every human
being irrespective of his or her religious affiliation. Therefore, it
seems possible to say that absolute monotheism shares with Durkheim
the view that in the future each individual will be treated as a
sacred being. It will not be reconcilable, however, with the cult of
the human person, if the latter insists on locating the sacred only
inside human beings and denies its presence outside them, in other
words, if the latter absolutizes the individual human being.

Western and Eastern Traditions

Finally, applying the perspective of genuine monotheism, I would
like to discuss the relations between the Western and Eastern
religious traditions. It is possible to see that the Western
religious traditions-Judaism, Christianity, and Islam -- have tried
to teach us the importance of absolute monotheism, that is, "our
attachment to the absolute," whereas the Eastern or Asian
religious traditions have tried to teach us the importance of "our
detachment from the relative." In this way, we can see that
Oriental and Occidental traditions are not contradictory or not just
compatible but perfectly complementary. W e must admit that the
Western religious traditions have sometimes inadvertently encouraged
our attachment to the relative beings because of their strong
emphasis on the attachment to the absolute. On the other hand, as
Robert Bellah notes, the Eastern religious traditions are generally
free from illusions because of their emphasis that all things are in
a state of flux.17 In other words, the Eastern traditions emphasized
the importance of our detachment from the relative. We can see any
emphasis on our detachment from the relative as a practical way
toward our spiritual search for, and ultimate attachment to, the
absolute.

Conclusion

In this paper, I have discussed the significance and implications
of genuine monotheism largely by applying H.R. Niebuhr's insights to
the analysis of the UM. This paper asserted that genuine monotheism
can be greatly instrumental in promoting various interrelational
unificationisms and inter-x movements. Criticizing Wilson's view that
monotheism is the major cause of religious exclusivism in the West,
this paper presented the case of the Unitarian Church as evidence to
the contrary. We also wondered about the relations between genuine
monotheism and "a cult of the human person" predicted by
Durkheim. Finally, we discussed the Western and Eastern religious
approaches from the perspective of genuine monotheism and discerned
that they are complementary. I hope our recovering or understanding
of genuine monotheism will be helpful in invigorating various inter-x
movements and facilitating the emergence of harmony and unity in this
world because the inter-x movements are prerequisite to such harmony
and unity.

5. For an understanding of the UM, see David G. Bromley and Anson
Shupe, Jr., "Moonies" in America (Beverly Hills: Sage,
1979); M. Darrol Bryant and Herbert W. Richardson, eds. A Time for
Consideration: A Scholarly Appraisal of the Unification Church (New
York: Edwin Mellen Press, 1978); Mose Durst, To Bigotry, No Sanction:
Reverend Sun Myung Moon and the Unification Church (Chicago: Regnery
Gateway, 1984); [Hyo Won Eu], Divine Principle, 5th Ed. (New York:
Holy Spirit Association for the Unification of World Christianity,
1977); Joseph Fichter, The Holy Family of Father Moon (Kansas City:
Leaven Press, 1985); Young Oon Kim, Unification Theology (New York:
Holy Spirit Association for the Unification of World Christianity,
1980); Sebastian A. Matczak, Unificationism: A New Philosophy and
Worldview (New York: Learned, 1982); Sun Myung Moon, God's Will and
the World (New York: Holy Spirit Association for the Unification of
World Christianity, 1985) Richard Quebedeaux, ed. Lifestyle:
Conversations with Members of the Unification Church (New York: Rose
of Sharon, 1982); Herbert Richardson, ed., Ten Theologians Respond to
the Unification Church (New York: Rose of Sharon, 1981); Frederick
Sontag, Sun Myung Moon and the Unification Church (Nashville:
Abingdon, 1977); and Yoshihiko Masuda, "Moral Vision and
Practice in the Unification Movement," Ph.D. dissertation,
University of Southern California, 1987.

6. Mary Daly, Feminist Postchristian Introduction to The Church
and the Second Sex (New York: Harper and Row; Harper Colophon Books,
1975), 38.

7. For the assessment of the Home Church movement, see Joseph
Fichter, "Home Church: Alternative Parish," in his
Alternative to American Mainline Churches (New York: Rose of Sharon,
1983), 179-99; and Fichter, Holy Family, 111 30.

15. For Durkheim's views on the cult of the individual/human
person, see Emile Durkheim, The Division of Labor in Society, trans.
George Simpson (New York: Macmillan, 1933; Free Press, 1964), 172,
407-8; Emile Durkheim, Suicide: A Study in Sociology, trans. John A.
Spaulding and George Simpson (New York: Free Press, 1951), 336; and
Emile Durkheim, "Individuals and the Intellectuals," in
Emile Durkheim: On Morality and Society, ed. Robert Bellah; trans, M.
Traugott (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1973), 43-57. It is
important to note the difference between his negative evaluation of
the cult of the individual in his Division of Labor and positive
evaluation of the cult of the human person in his later work. My view
on the relations between monotheistic religions and the cult of the
human person is contrary to Frances Westley's. She totally denies any
compatibility between the two. See Frances Westley, '"The Cult
of Man': Durkheim's Predictions and New Religious Movements."
Sociological Analysis 39 (Summer 1978): 135-45; and Frances Westley,
77ze Complex Forms of the Religious Life: A Durkheimian View of New
Religious Movements (Chico, CA: Scholar's Press, 1983).

16. Durkheim, "Individuals and the Intellectuals," 50.

17. Robert Bellah says "Eastern religions are strong... in
sensitivity to the illusions and transitoriness of the world."
See Sam Keen and Robert Bellah, "The Sacred and the Political in
American Life," Psychology Today (January 1976): 64.